IMF: Vaccine inequity threatens Mideast’s economic recovery

IMF: Vaccine inequity threatens Mideast’s economic recovery

DUBAI: Middle East economies are recovering from the coronavirus pandemic faster than anticipated, largely due to the acceleration of mass inoculation campaigns and an increase in oil prices. But the International Monetary Fund warned Sunday that an uneven vaccine distribution would derail the region's rebound, as the prospects of rich and poor countries diverge. In its latest report, the IMF again revised upward its 2020 economic outlook for the Mideast and North Africa, now outlining just a 3. 4 percent contraction last year, with growth for the region's oil exporters buoyed by a boom for commodities and rise in oil price, which hit $67 a barrel in March. Even with an expected dip to $57 a barrel by the end of 2021, the surge from last year's all-time lows is boosting the oil-rich nations of the Gulf, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which also have moved swiftly toward widespread vaccination. But elsewhere in the region, from Yemen and Sudan to Libya and Lebanon, where inflation soars, instability prevails and wars have left lasting scars, the damaging effects of the pandemic will drag on and cause economic harm, the IMF said “” possibly for years to come.